A communication system may include wireless point-to-point communication links where a transmitter and a receiver communicate using wireless communication. A point-to-point link may be a one-way link where one station transmits information to another station, or a point-to-point link may be bidirectional where both stations transmit and receive information. A wireless-communications link may have a data rate above 1 megabit per second. A wireless transmitter and receiver can be separated by relatively short distances (e.g., 10 m to 1 km) or moderate to long distances (e.g., 1 km to 40,000 km) and can communicate using radio-frequency communications operating, for example, at any suitable frequency from approximately 300 kHz to approximately 300 GHz. As an example and not by way of limitation, an E-band communications link can operate in the 71-76 GHz or the 81-86 GHz range.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may provide wireless internet connectivity to devices located on the ground. For example, a UAV may have an onboard communications module that wirelessly connects to the Internet (e.g., through a bidirectional link with a ground station), and a mobile computing device—such as a smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop computer—may wirelessly connect to the Internet through the UAV's communications module. A UAV may remain aloft for weeks, months, or years, and the UAV may provide access to the Internet and various data services (e.g., messaging, email, voice communication, social networking, search functions, health information, or weather information) to users located in a terrestrial area below the UAV.